Saturday Update

Hi there! As you can see I'm still going with the temporary new look for my blog. It seems that anything to do with the computer kind of instantly zaps my energy, so I try to stay away from it as much as possible.

Speaking of energy, I've had four whole headache-free days in a row! So I think we're done with the headaches for the time being. It's been great to be able to pitch in with a little bit of help around the house once in a while. Nothing major, but here and there little things that feel like they make a difference to me. But today I decided to vacuum our bedroom and ended up doing the whole main floor. It was like a major workout for me - stretching, pushing, bending, sweating! It felt great!



Yesterday we saw the oncologist and the radiologist and got lots of questions answered. So they plan to give me two more spinal infusions of chemo during this third round of chemo next week, and two more during the fourth round in May. I can expect to get headaches again, but did receive the advice to stay lying down for at least the first day after each infusion, and that should make the headaches more manageable. For the rest, they still have to figure out who will give the infusions and how they will do the freezing this time, considering the complications the last two times.

As far as radiation goes, if all goes as they hope, that will follow 2 weeks after the very last chemo treatment finishes in July. It will be full brain chemo (as opposed to aiming directly at the tumors - which will hopefully be gone by then) and will require a daily trip to the cancer centre for about 12 to 18 days.


We didn't get any new information about the progress of the treatment. They will be doing a CT scan before the fourth round of chemo in May. So we only know from the MRI that was done unexpectedly a few weeks ago, that "the mass has shrunk considerably" and that there was nothing new or different from before. So we are going on that good news and hope and pray that the chemo will continue to be effective in wiping out the cancer.

At the same time, we were also surprised, in a disappointing way, by the blood test results. When the doctor saw them he was sure that they had been mixed up with someone else's results because some of the counts were so very different from a month ago. So he sent me back to the lab to have the blood work re-done.

However, the results were the same as those from the tests done four hours earlier. We were told that my hemoglobin and platelet counts were down quite a lot from last month. So they will have to look into this on Tuesday and/or Wednesday to try to figure out the reason and then decide whether I can have chemo next week or not. Ideally we should not be delaying any treatments, but if my blood count is too low, they will have to, or consider lowering the dosage. I am receiving a very strong dosage of chemo so maybe that has caused the substantial drop in my blood counts.

Please pray specifically for my body to regenerate these blood cells. I had been cruising along nicely here, thinking everything was going so well. So it was quite a reality check to realize that not everything is going perfectly well. It is also hard to believe that the counts are so low, because my energy has been increasing as the counts went down. The nurse found it hard to believe too. She commented on my colour and my energy level and the reports I had given as to how I was feeling and she said they don't match the blood reports. Oh, well, another thing we have to learn to leave in God's hands.



The tomatoes that I seeded the day after I got home from round two of chemo are really coming along! And as you can see on the window, it's a rainy day today! Looks like these tomato plants could use some of that rain. I'd better go and water them.